


Problems at Daycare

by Ellie226



Series: The Community [9]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Age Play, Daddy Kink, F/F, F/M, M/M, Mommy Kink, Multi, Spanking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-20
Updated: 2014-10-20
Packaged: 2018-02-21 20:56:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2482136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellie226/pseuds/Ellie226
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Not everyone in the community gets along, and Emily would tell you that Jessie is a Brat with a capital B. Maureen may be Jessie's kinda-mommy, but she'd agree.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Problems at Daycare

Ben’s POV

Emily and Lucy were off together, washing their hands before lunch, but I was already at our table. Today was a Frankie day at daycare, and she was sitting there too. I liked having a friend at daycare. Lucy was always nice, but she was really Em’s friend. And Michael would play with me, but he was such a baby.

Daddy had packed lunches again. I loved that he did that. Em and I would wash dinner dishes while he put together lunches, asking us whether we wanted peanut butter or tuna, or if we wanted a cookie or chocolate. Sometimes, there were surprises. Not all the time, but once or twice a week, he would write a little note or slip in something special.

Today was a good lunch. Yesterday was a half day for Daddy for work, and so we’d cooked dinner together. We got to eat leftovers for lunch, and Miss Maggie had already heated up my food. Roast chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans were all good. Plus, we had chocolate chip cookies from this weekend, and Daddy had filled my sippy cup with cranberry juice.

Miss Maggie came by with Em’s lunch, and I sat swinging my legs, waiting for my Emily so we could eat. After lunch came naptime, and then we’d play before Daddy came. Em didn’t have to nap. Daddy said. But sometimes, she would cuddle with me, and I thought maybe she would today.

While I was considering the best way to get Emily to agree to that, my cookies disappeared. I whirled around, glaring at Jessie.

“You give those back,” I ordered quietly. “Those are mine.”

“You weren’t eating them,” she pointed out.

“Give ‘em back. Cookies are for after lunch.”

“That’s not nice,” Frankie interjected. “You shouldn’t take his stuff. Give Ben back his cookies.”

“Or what?” she taunted. “What’cha goin’ to do?”

Emily appeared then. I’d been hoping that I’d get my cookies back before she returned because Em didn’t have a lot of patience for Jessie. I hadn’t told her about Jessie taking my chips yesterday, even though it ruined my whole lunch. Daddy never packed tuna unless we had chips, and I couldn’t even barely eat my sandwich (except Miss Maggie wouldn’t let me get up until I finished half).

There had been a few arguments with Jessie though. I knew from before that Jessie and Em didn’t like each other, and it seemed like Jessie took special pleasure in tormenting me now that Emily had appointed herself by guardian angel.

“Give Ben his cookies back before you get your stupid germs all over them, Jessica,” Emily hissed.

Jessie smiled at Emily, raising one cookie to her mouth and taking a big bite, “These are delicious,” she pronounced.

She didn’t have time to take a second bite before Emily smacked her, right in the face. I think probably nobody would have noticed that, except then Em knocked Jessie over and pinned her to the ground. That was what really got the grown up’s attention.

“You can’t just take people’s food and get your disgusting germs on them,” she was lecturing angrily. “You’re going to make my Ben just as dumb and awful as-”

“Whoa,” Miss Maggie said, wading in and getting Emily under the arms. She pulled Emily off of Jessie, lecturing, “We don’t push or hit, kiddo. I think we need to go to my office to talk.”

Emily’s POV

Ben was watching with wide eyes, and I found him beside me, grabbing one of my hands, “Wasn’t my Emily’s fault.”

“And whose fault was it, Ben?” she asked skeptically, helping Jessie up and giving her a quick cuddle. “You’re fine, Jessie Mae.”

I didn’t want to answer that. I wasn’t a tattletale. Usually. Except sometimes on accident. 

While I was wondering whether I should tell, Frankie piped up, “Jessie took Ben’s cookie. She takes his stuff all the time. And we asked her to give it back, Miss Maggie. ‘fore Emily ever even got back here, we asked. And then Emily asked. Jessie’s a bully.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Miss Maggie lectured. “We don’t hit or push. Period. I don’t care what happened beforehand. You could have gotten me or Miss Melissa.”

“But-”

Miss Maggie cut Frankie off, stating, “I want all of you in my office.” She fixed her eyes on Lucy, asking, “Were you involved?”

“No ma’am,” Lucy answered quickly. I didn’t blame her. Aunt Charlotte spanked hard. I’d stayed with them once, when Daddy had to go someplace overnight, and she’d used a hairbrush to paddle me because I maybe refused to eat. 

Lucy pointed at Frankie, “Neither was she, Miss Maggie.”

“Ben wasn’t doing anything,” I argued. “Jessie picks on him all the time for no reason even.”

My Ben didn’t let go of my hand, saying, “If my Emily is going to the office, ‘m comin’ too.”

“It’s okay,” I murmured to him, giving him a hug and trying to wiggle my hand free. “Just eat your lunch.”

He shook his head stubbornly, “No. Me too.”

Miss Maggie shook her head, saying, “If you want to that badly, little boy, then you can come with me while we call your daddy.”

That was maybe not awful. I’d been worried I was going to get punished in daycare, and then Daddy would probably spank me at home. But if she was calling Daddy, then it probably just meant time out until he could pick me up. Then, I could argue my case.

Ben’s POV

I listened to people talking, as we walked to Miss Maggie’s office. She was holding tightly onto Emily and Jessie’s hands. Em had tried to shrug me off earlier, but I wasn’t letting go of her free hand until Daddy got here and told me to.

Except as soon as we got into Miss Maggie’s office, she sent Emily and Jessie to time out, smacking their bottoms. I tried to follow after my Emily, but Miss Maggie grabbed my arm and shook her head.

“No, kiddo,” she told me. “I understand you want to be in here, but you can’t be with Emily in time out. If you still don’t want to eat lunch, you can sit on the couch and wait.”

With a sigh, I settled myself on the couch, pulling my knees to my chest and watching as Miss Maggie picked up the phone and began dialing.

She called Jessie’s daddy first. I could only hear half of the conversation, but Miss Maggie sounded pretty mad when she hung up.

“Jessica, your daddy is in a meeting, and he told me that’d he’d deal with this later,” she said. “He’ll come and get you at the usual time.”

She called Daddy next, “Hi, Matt,” she greeted. “It’s Maggie, at the center, and we’ve had a problem.”

Miss Maggie stopped for a minute, listening to Daddy before she explained, “Well, Emily hit Jessica, and she’s in time out. I wanted to speak-”

He must have interrupted her because she stopped for a moment, finishing the call with, “Of course. We’ll be here.”

Miss Maggie hung up the phone, smiling at me quickly before telling Emily and I, “Your daddy is on his way down, and he told me that Emily was to stay in time out until he got here. You,” she nodded at me, “are going to eat your lunch for me.”

“No thank you,” I said politely, not moving.

“That wasn’t a request, Ben,” she explained. “You need to go and eat your lunch now. You’ve seen that Emily’s in time out. She’s going to stay here until your daddy comes to pick her up.”

“And me too?” I asked.

Miss Maggie shrugged, telling me, “I don’t know, kiddo, but I’m sure he’ll talk with you before he leaves.”

I didn’t want to abandon Em, but Miss Maggie didn’t look like she was going to give me much of a choice. 

Before I could make a decision about whether I wanted to really put my foot down, Emily sighed, “Benjamin Andrew, you go and eat lunch. This minute. Daddy said listen.”

“But-”

“Now,” she repeated sternly, turning to glare.

I heard Miss Maggie lecturing Emily about time out as I fled the office, but I didn’t bother to listen to it. I’d heard the speech often enough.

Rejoining Frankie and Lucy at our table, I sat in front of my meal and picked. I wasn’t hungry, and I didn’t want to eat anything. Jessie was mean and awful, and now Emily was probably going to get paddled because Daddy had to come and get her. That was really bad.

Miss Maggie’s POV

I leaned back in my desk chair, stifling my sigh of annoyance. I had no doubt that Jessie had been teasing Ben. It had been quite the problem, especially lately.

Although she hadn’t said anything to me about it, I’d heard mention that Jessie’s daddy had been having a frequent houseguest, a woman known in the local fetish community as a mommy. 

After having been the center of attention for so long, I was guessing that someone was having a hard time adapting to the idea of having to share her daddy’s attention. Complicating the matter was the fact that Jessie’s daddy, Ryan, had always been both overindulgent and very willing to overlook and explain away Jessie’s bad behavior. If the maybe-mommy’s reputation was anything to go by, little miss Jessie’s life had very dramatically changed.

It didn’t excuse the behavior, but things were rough for the little girl right now. Seeing how readily Ben had been absorbed into Emily and Matt’s behavior probably made things even harder. Resolving to talk about it with Jessie once Emily got picked up, I sat and watched the two girls.

I didn’t have to wait long. Matt was always prompt. I didn’t necessarily agree with the way that he handled Emily and Ben, but I had to admit that he obviously loved them. 

Matt’s POV

This was not a good day. I’d dropped off two relatively happy littles at daycare, and I now had to go and pick them up, barely three hours later, because Emily had lost her temper. 

I’d been looking forward to our Friday night. We had the whole weekend together, and I’d even considered taking them on some sort of weekend trip. Monday was a paperwork day; half the time, I worked from home. We had time to go someplace, maybe to Gatlinburg or just in to the city. Something.

Instead, I was getting them early, taking them both home, and very likely paddling Emily for hitting. I would listen to what she had to say first, but I really couldn’t fathom a situation where slapping someone was an appropriate response.

Ben was sitting at a table by himself, looking thoroughly miserable when I arrived. It was already quiet time now, and I spotted a few familiar faces scattered throughout the room, coloring and reading. Mikey was curled up in Miss Melissa’s lap, rocking in the chair as he drank down a bottle, and it was probably just about time for some naps.

When my little boy saw me, his face lit up, “Daddy!”

“Hey, peanut,” I greeted him, hurrying over to pick him up for a quick cuddle. I really didn’t want to go and hear what Emily had done.

Ben apparently didn’t care about what I wanted to hear, since he almost immediately began explaining to me.

I interrupted, asking, “What’s going on with your lunch, sweetpea?”

“Not hungry,” he shook his head.

“Not hungry?” I parroted. “Well, you have to eat. How about you sit back down and eat, and I’ll go talk to Miss Maggie and Em?”

“Me too,” he begged.

I shook my head, “No, peanut. I need you to eat, and I need some privacy for this discussion. As soon as Emily and I are done, we’re going to go home for the day.”

“Promise no leaving me here?” he asked, avoiding eye contact.

I hated that he still felt like he had to check on that, but I pushed that thought down, saying, “I absolutely promise. Will you eat?”

“Uh huh,” he slithered down my hip.

“Okay, sweetpea,” I kissed his head. “At least half, understood?”

He nodded, focused back on his meal, and I reluctantly left him, making my way to the office. Emily was in her customary corner, closest to the desk, and Jessie was opposite her. 

Smiling tiredly at Miss Maggie, I said, “I’m here to pick up my miscreant.”

Miss Maggie’s POV

Matt stood in my doorway, and I considered both girls for a moment. Although I knew it was likely that Emily was looking forward to a paddling when she got home, I wanted him to understand the mitigating circumstances. Of course, that had to be discussed out of the range of little ears, as they didn’t need to know that any of us thought there was an excuse.

Motioning for him to come with me, I turned on the white noise machine before stepping out in the hallway and shut the door. I could keep an eye on the girls through the window, but they wouldn’t be able to listen.

“What happened?” he asked.

“I didn’t see the entire thing,” I started. “I was heating up Emily’s lunch, and she was in the bathroom with Lucy. Ben was sitting at the table with Francesca, and Jessica came over and swiped his cookies.”

He winced, prompting, “Then?”

“Has Ben talked with you about this at all?”

“About what?” he asked, looking worried. “I just got here. I stopped to give him a hug, but he didn’t have time to tell me much of anything.”

I sighed, not wanting to be the bearer of bad news. Deep breath, I began, “Jessie and Ben have been clashing a little bit lately. I haven’t seen anything huge, and I haven’t seen anything that I’d intervene for beyond simply telling Jessica to give a toy back. Neither Ben nor Jessie has come to someone to complain. However...”

Matt waited for a beat before filling in, “Emily disagreed with that course of action.”

“Yes,” I smiled with relief. I’d been worried about Matt disagreeing with it, and I was second guessing my decision to not do anything earlier. “Typically, these little spats work themselves out without us doing something.”

“To hear Emily speak of it, you’d think this place was a prison,” he grinned. “Don’t want to make Ben look weak.”

I snorted, surprised laughter forcing its way out, and Matt reached out to pat my shoulder, “It’s okay. Ben knows to get a grown up. So does Emily. Hitting isn’t okay. I would maybe overlook it if Jessica had pushed or hit Ben, but over cookies?”

Saying something I’d never expected to have to say to Matt, I nodded, “Don’t be too hard on her. She just wants to take care of Ben.”

“It’s a pain, isn’t it?” he grinned. “I swear, it’s like having another grown up in the house sometimes. She doesn’t like the way I’m feeding him. He shouldn’t be having that for dinner. What was I thinking when I let him watch a movie? She’s a bossy little thing.”

Emily’s POV

I fidgeted uncomfortably, daring a peek over my shoulder. Miss Maggie was getting a whole lot of time to tell Daddy what she wanted, and I was thinking I should get equal time to make my case.

“You’re supposed to hold still in time out,” I heard Daddy’s admonishment. “Ready to go home, Emily Anne?”

I nodded, turning to leave the corner. Before I could exit the office, Daddy snagged my arm, giving me a quick hug before nodding toward Miss Maggie, “Say goodbye, buttercup.”

“Bye,” I waved, leaning into Matt. 

Miss Maggie spared me a quick smile, “Bye, Emily. I’ll see you Monday.”

Daddy took my hand, leading me out to the main room. Poor Ben was all by himself at our table, quietly picking at his lunch.

“Come on, peanut,” Daddy squatted beside him. “You can finish up at home.”

Ben pushed his lunch away, telling Daddy, “‘m not hungry.”

“Okay, but you have to eat,” Daddy explained, packing up Ben’s meal. Someone had already covered mine, and he grabbed both boxes, handing them to us. After a quick stop at our cubbies, we were out the door and to the car. 

Daddy had called me Emily Anne, but sometimes he just did that. My optimistic hope, that I would be able to convince him that hitting Jessie was really okay, died, when Daddy made me ride in the back. Two signs of disgrace were not good. The fact that he put me in the backseat, buckling me in, clinched it. I was in trouble.

Jessie’s POV

I listened to Emily leave, glaring at the wall. It wasn’t fair. I shouldn’t be in time out for getting hit. That didn’t make any sense. I was going to tell my daddy when he picked me up, and he’d give Miss Maggie a piece of his mind.

If he ever showed up. Sighing heavily, I tried to put that thought out of my mind. I know I’d agreed to his idea, that having a mommy would be fun, but it seemed like she’d just taken over my daddy. When she was around, she was bossy, and when she wasn’t there, Daddy wanted to talk about her.

It wasn’t fair, and in spite of myself, I felt my eyes fill with tears. I wanted my daddy. I wanted somebody to cuddle with me so I could tell them how mean Emily was, and how it wasn’t even fair that Ben had just joined her family, and now they were like a stupid, secret, not at all fair, little club.

“Well, Jessie Mae,” I heard someone saying my name. “What happened?”

That was double not fair. I didn’t want her to come and get me! I wanted my daddy! Stupid Maureen was awful. 

She made me go to bed at bedtime, which I didn’t get to set anymore. And if I didn’t behave, then it was bed by myself. And sure, she’d convinced Daddy to decorate my room, but that didn’t matter.

She liked to cook, except everything was the grossest. Too many vegetables and weird spices, and she didn’t let me have dessert if I didn’t eat the stupid main course. When she wanted to bake with me, she made me try new cookies, and I didn’t even want dried cherries in my oatmeal cookies. 

Things were way better before she came. I’d heard what other people said, that I had my daddy wrapped around my little finger, and I liked it that way. I liked having cookies for breakfast, if I wanted. I liked getting the toys I wanted, when I wanted them. I liked deciding when everyone was going to bed, and what we were going to eat, and where we were going to go.

I hated her. And now she was here, getting me, and she was probably going to make me take a nap while she told Daddy about how I deserved spankings. It wasn’t fair.

Maureen’s POV

“Jessica Mae, I’m talking to you please,” I said firmly. “I’d like you to come out of time out.”

“No,” she insisted stubbornly. “I’m waiting for my daddy. He’ll be here after work, thank you very much, and we won’t be needing you.”

Maggie stifled a laugh, and I walked over to the corner, putting an arm around the little girl’s shoulders.

“Come here, Jessie,” I coaxed. “Let’s sit down and have a little chat, then we’ll go back to your house. Daddy’s not coming. He called me and asked me to come and get you, so you didn’t have to wait until he got off work.”

“Don’t you have to work?” she sniffled.

“I finished up my meetings,” I explained. “Do you want to talk here, or would you like to wait until we get home.”

“Not going to talk to you.”

“That’s not a choice right now, Jessica Mae,” I told her. “Your choices rights now, if you aren’t going to use your safe word, is to talk with me here or to talk with me at your house. But you are going to talk to me, and we will eventually be returning to your home.”

Miss Maggie’s POV

I was impressed. Firm but kind, she seemed to have a good handle on Jessica. Plus, Melissa had told me that Ryan had called while I was with Matt, informing her that he was sending Maureen to pick up Jessie.

We wouldn’t send her if she safe worded. Even if Maureen had been willing to continue, Jessica knew what to do. A protocol had been developed after everything happened with Ben, and one of the requirements of residence or employment in the community now involved training in it. 

Everyone knew that red meant stop. Although couples might use other safe words in their own homes, we had drilled it into the littles’ heads that they had the right to say red at any time, and that if the big with them didn’t listen, that anyone else who heard would intervene. Safe words were sacrosanct.

“I don’t wanna go with you,” Jessie pouted, although I noticed that she’d allowed Maureen to guide her to the couch. She was leaned against the woman.

“Do you want to talk to Daddy?” Maureen offered. “We can call him, if you’d like. He’s going to tell you that he sent me to pick you up, little girl.”

“Nooooo,” Jessie drew it out. She knew that we wouldn’t release her without a call from Ryan anyway. “We can go.”

“Alright then,” Maureen said, standing up. “Let’s get your stuff, and then we’ll go home. Did you get a chance to eat before your little disagreement.”

Jessie didn’t answer that question, responding with, “Wasn’t a disagreement! Emily just smacked me! In the face! And then she knocked me down!”

That didn’t seem like an entirely accurate representation, although Jessie wasn’t lying, and I decided to ignore it. Jessie had a time out in my office, which would have been the extent of punishment for her taking Ben’s cookies. Coupled with getting hit in the face, I figured Ben’s desserts were safe for the forseeable future. 

I walked them both out, focused on what we had left to do this afternoon. Having lost three littles, it should be an easy day from here.

Maureen’s POV

I wanted to get Jessica home and feed her some lunch. Since we had the whole afternoon, I was thinking that we could cook dinner together and maybe watch a movie.

Poor Jessie. She was having a rough time with me being around. I could tell. I’d actually insisted upon Ryan letting me go and pick her up, hopeful that an afternoon of just the two of us might help. As long as Ryan was around, I felt like I had to spend the entire time being the mean grown up. 

Which I could do. Strict came naturally to me. And Jessica needed it. What Ryan saw when he looked at her, and what I saw, were completely different. She was not a happy little girl, in spite of what her daddy thought. She was a scared and sad little girl who was acting out because she had no idea of what her boundaries were.

Hopeful, I walked her out to my car, holding her hand. Maybe today could just be fun, without me having to be mean mommy. 

Emily’s POV

Daddy was quiet in the car, not saying anything until we reached home, when he quietly instructed, “Ben, honey, I’d like you to go upstairs and get into bed. It’s time for your nap.”

“No,” Ben pleaded.

“Peanut, you gotta get some rest,” Daddy tried to explain. “I’ll be up to tuck you in just as soon as I’ve got Em settled.”

“No, but Daddy, I was there too. Em shouldn’t get spanked. Jessie was being real bad.”

Daddy sighed, asking, “Ben, did Jessie hit your or Emily?”

“No, but-”

“Did she kick you or hurt you? Was she hurting someone else?”

“Nooooo,” he whined. “But listen.”

Ben stopped talking then, and Daddy prompted, “I’m listening, sweetpea.”

“Jessie is a meany. She’s been being mean for weeks, and Em warned her. It’s Jessie’s fault.”

“Alright,” Daddy said. “We’re going to go inside and talk, all three of us, about what’s been going on in daycare.”

He’d put the child locks on, and I had to wait for him to let me out. Even out of the car, he wouldn’t let go of my hand as he walked me into the house.

This was not good. This was not good at all.

Maureen’s POV

Jessie went to the car, buckling herself into the passenger seat and staring out the window on the drive home. When I pulled into her driveway, she unbuckled herself but didn’t open the door.

“Come on,” I coaxed, getting out of the car.

She slowly climbed out of the car, following me up to the front door and allowing me to lead her inside.

“Should we eat some lunch?” I asked, guiding her to the kitchen.

“Yes.”

“Yes please?”

She pouted, and I said, “I think you meant yes please, Jessie Mae.”

“Nope,” she replied, making a popping noise.

“You can go wait in the corner,” I directed, nodding toward the time out area in the living room.

“Why?” she asked, outraged. 

She wasn’t moving toward time out, and I calmly took her arm and led her, saying, “Little girls use their polite words with grown ups, Jessica. We can try this again after your time out.”

“That’s not fair!” she wailed, trying to twist away. I didn’t let go of her until she was actually in the corner, and I was unsurprised by her flopping to the ground. “Not fair!” she repeated.

“I’ll start the clock when you’re quiet, kitty cat,” I explained, before going over to the couch. I grabbed a nearby magazine, waiting her out.

“But I’m hungry!”

“And you can have lunch just as soon as time out is over,” I said firmly.

She turned to glare at me, “That’s not fair! My blood sugar is low! I can’t help being naughty when my blood sugar is low.”

“I think you’ll find it best to figure out a way to behave, even with low blood sugar, if you want to spend less time in time out, Jessica Mae,” I responded. “Naughty little girls get time out; that’s what happens. I’ll start your time when you’re quiet.”

It took Jessie a while to actually calm down, but as soon as she did, I praised, “Thank you for being quiet and still, Jessie. I’m going to start your time out now.”

She made a rude noise at that, but I ignored it, watching the clock. I didn’t actually make her wait the full 26 minutes, since it was past lunch already, but I figured she wouldn’t know about my cheat.

“Alright, missy,” I said quietly, holding out my hands and waiting for her. She glared, eyes red rimmed, but she approached me. “Why were you in time out?” I asked quietly.

“Because you’re-”

I cut her off, “Jessica, you need to remember to behave, or you’ll be right back in time out. This time though, it’ll be with a soapy mouth or a sore bottom.”

She looked furious, but she kept her mouth shut, and I continued, “Or, you can answer my question like the good girl I know you are, and then we can make some lunch. It’s your choice.”

“I wouldn’t say please,” she gritted out, sounding furious.

I nodded, “Good girl. Can you apologize?”

Her face was red as she spat, “I’m sorry.”

It wasn’t quite where I wanted to see her, but it was progress. We had time for more. She just needed boundaries, and I was prepared to give them to her.

Moving on, I asked, “What would you like for lunch, kitty cat?”

She shrugged, and I stood, taking her into the kitchen as I said, “We could have sandwiches, if you’d like, or we can make salad.”

Jessie made a face at that, and I smiled as I remembered her intense hatred of the salads I’d made.

“Sandwiches,” she stated, adding before I could remind her, “please.”

Matt’s POV

Ben sat next to Emily on the couch, clutching ‘his Emily’s’ hand tightly and staring stubbornly at me.

“You are not going to punish my Emily,” he lectured.

“Benjamin Andrew,” I raised an eyebrow. “Don’t talk to Daddy that way. That’s not nice.”

“Is not nice to punish my Em’ly when she didn’t even do anything wrong,” he argued.

“Ben,” I kept my voice calm, “do you trust me?”

He nodded slowly, and I said, “Do you think that I’ll spank Emily without talking to her first? Do I ever do that?”

“Daddy, two questions at a time isn’t fair,” Emily chided.

She was right. Em wouldn’t have trouble with it, but Ben still struggled with dealing with these conversations. 

I apologized, “I’m sorry, peanut. Em’s right. Let’s start with this: do I ever spank either of you without talking first?”

“You swat,” he answered.

I nodded, “Yeah, I’ll swat if one of you is out of control, but what about an actual spanking once you’re calm enough to talk?”

“No sir.”

Sir. That wasn’t good. Reaching forward, I took Ben’s hand and said, “Ben, it’s still Daddy. You don’t have to say sir.”

“It’s not fair to spank her,” he whispered mechanically. “Jessie was being so mean, Daddy, and my Emily was trying to help. Jessie’s real bad.”

“I understand,” I reassured, adding, “And we’ll be talking about why we talk to people when there’s a problem, Ben. But does that make it okay to hit?”

“Jessie is bad,” he repeated stubbornly.

“It sounds like Jessie has been doing some very not nice stuff,” I replied. “But does that make Emily hitting her okay? If Emily took your cookie, would it be okay to punch her?”

“Two questions, Daddy.”

“Is it okay to hit?” I asked Ben.

He didn’t answer, but Emily did, shaking her head, “No, Daddy. But she was being really mean, and she’s been being really mean to my Ben, and that’s bad too.”

“Yes it is,” I agreed. “And I’m going to call and talk to her daddy tonight. For now though, someone needs a nap, and somebody else is getting a spanking and then a nap.”

Emily’s POV

I gently pushed at Ben, saying, “Go on upstairs, my Ben. I’ll be up in a little bit?”

Daddy answered my question, confirming, “Yes, you’ll go up to bed in a little bit. Ben can just go and wait for you, please, sweetheart.”

He grumbled, but my Ben went. I rolled my eyes when he was upstairs, telling Daddy, “You know he’s going to need you to go up there and give him hug and kiss and cuddles so he knows you’re not mad he was dis’greeing.”

“I know,” Daddy smiled ruefully at me. “You ready, baby?”

Sighing heavily, I nodded and stood, asking, “How do you want me?”

“I think over my knee will work just fine, Em.”

That was okay. That was normal, so he didn’t think that it was that awful. Even if he wasn’t saying it, he must have understood why I needed to punch Jessie.

“I know I shouldn’t hit,” I told him, waiting for him to sit before I leaned forward. “But I also think Jessie deserved it.”

“What can you do next time?” he asked, gently rubbing my bottom a little before he lifted my skirt and slid my panties down. 

Sighing, I squirmed unhappily, “Shoulda got a grown up. Or maybe told you when you came, and I coulda shared my cookies with Ben so he got some.”

Daddy brought his hand down, making me squirm more. He wasn’t messing around. Matt never did. He spanked like he meant it. At least he wasn’t lecturing this time though, probably because he knew I was a little bit right.

Soon, it hurt too much for me to compare it to other spankings. I was mostly thinking about how much I wanted it to end. Then, Daddy brought out the paddle.

I was crying pretty hard, but I vaguely registered what Matt was saying, something about how it wasn’t okay to hit (which raised some questions for me about the ethics of spanking one’s wife), and then he actually used the paddle.

Matt’s POV

She was sobbing hysterically, but I forced myself to continue the spanking, bringing the paddle down sharply a full dozen times before I set it to the side and began rubbing her back.

“It’s okay,” I murmured. “All done. You’ll write a letter apologizing, and then your punishment is over.”

It took Em a while to calm down, longer than normal, but she eventually struggled up and curled onto my lap, panties dangling off of one ankle. She wrapped her arms around my neck and cried against my chest.

“I know, baby,” I soothed, rubbing her back. “That was rough.”

“Trying to help,” she sobbed out against me.

I sighed, struggling to my feet and walking a little, swaying and rocking the way I did for Ben. I crooned into her ear, “My Em. You’re a good girl. Hmmm? You were just trying to help Ben, and you made a mistake, and it’s over now.”

The typical patter seemed to do the trick, after a while. Emily slowly stopped crying, finally mumbling, “Need to go cuddle my Ben.”

“Am I invited?” I asked, not putting her down.

“You need to give Ben hug and kiss and cuddle,” she said, sounding very tired.

I nodded, starting toward the stairs. I was thinking that Ben wasn’t the only one who needed some comfort. Napping with my babies for the afternoon sounded like just what we all needed.

Jessie’s POV

Maureen made pretty good grilled cheese sandwiches, even if she made me eat tomato soup too. Sitting at the counter, I watched her suspiciously as I chewed on my lunch.

“So what happened at daycare?” she asked casually, picking up half of a sandwich.

I shrugged, “Emily hit me. She’s real naughty.”

“I’ve heard,” Maureen smiled. “She’s the sassy little thing with blonde hair, right?”

I nodded, “Yes. Her daddy, Mr. Matt, he lets her get away with everything. She’s always talking back, and she doesn’t listen to nobody ever. Not even her daddy. And she makes Ben and Lucy naughty too. Not Frankie though.”

“Which one’s Frankie?”

“She’s the girl with short hair,” I explained, stirring my soup distastefully. “And glasses. Her daddy is Mr. Mac. Frankie doesn’t like to play with anybody ‘cept Ben. Her and Em’ly do not get along.”

Maureen reached over and made me stop, saying firmly, “I didn’t give you that much, and it’s going to taste a lot better if you don’t let it get cold. Just try a spoonful and tell me what you think.”

In spite of myself, I raised the spoon to my lips, swallowing reluctantly. It was actually not the worst thing I’d ever eaten, much better than cans, and I found myself taking another spoonful.

“This is okay,” I said begrudgingly.

“I think what you mean is, thank you for making lunch, Maureen,” she said pointedly.

I wanted to argue with that. I didn’t like the way that she told me what to say. But I’d already spent forever in time out, and a quick glance at the clock told me that Daddy wouldn’t be home for 4 hours, at least.

“Thank you for making lunch.”

Maureen’s POV

I nodded, “You’re welcome,” I replied.

She wasn’t a bad little thing. I’d known that. I was surprised by how much more biddable she’d been. I’d been expecting more fighting, but I was starting to think that the arguments I’d had thus far were because she figured that Ryan was on her side. 

She was right, but she was wrong too. Ryan and I both wanted what was best for her, and I resolved that we would be having a discussion when he got home about that. Jessie needed more certainty, and she wouldn’t get that if Ryan kept trying to shield her from the consequences of her actions.

“Maureen!” Jessie sounded irritable, and it shook me out of my thoughts.

“Hmm? What’s up, kitty cat?”

“I want to watch a movie now,” she stated, sliding down from her stool.

Jessie had done pretty well with lunch. There were a few spoonfuls of soup at the bottom of her bowl, and her crusts were on the plate, but that was it. She’d even drained her milk, although she’d balked when I’d insisted that she have that rather than a coke.

“Jessica, that’s not the way you ask for things,” I explained calmly. “You’re the little girl. I know that you know that.”

She looked genuinely confused by that, and I continued, “If you want to watch a movie, then you need to ask. Too much TV isn’t good for little boys and girls.”

“I’d like to watch a movie, please,” she tried.

I could still see some irritation in her eyes, but that was actually pretty good. A huge improvement over what I normally saw.

“We could do that,” I told her. “We need to wash up from lunch first. I was going to make spaghetti for dinner; do you want to help me with that before I put a movie in? We need to put the sauce on to simmer and set the bread to rising. I thought we might need cookies too.”

She looked at me suspiciously, “No fruit in the cookies?”

“If you’d like,” I agreed, silently cheering at the small victory. “What kind would you like to bake?”

“I dunno,” she replied, sounding mildly interested.

“How about,” I suggested, “we clean up from lunch and start dinner, and then we’ll decide what kind?”

“We can make any kind I want?”

I grinned, “As long as we have the ingredient.”

“Okay,” she agreed, grabbing her plate and bowl and carrying them to the sink. She set them inside, then turned expectantly.

Alright, this was probably going to be slightly harder than I thought, if she didn’t realize that cleaning up was more than putting dishes in a sink and waiting for a fairy to come and clean them. That was okay though; it looked like she might be smiling a little, and that was a big deal.

Jessie’s POV

Daddy and I didn’t cook so much. We ate a lot of carryout, or we went out to eat. Since the Whole Foods had opened by Daddy’s office, he brought home dinner from there a lot. Daddy could make grilled cheese though, and pancakes. Cooking just wasn’t important.

Maureen disagreed. I’d known that much from the first time she’d come over. She was supposed to come to play with us, and she’d brought food. That time, it was homemade bread and jam, along with butter and orange juice. Every time since then though, she’d ended up bringing something. She’d actually started doing our grocery shopping, since she told Daddy it was unacceptable to have a fridge with nothing but condiments.

In spite of how annoying I found Maureen, she was a pretty good cook. We were definitely eating better since she’d started spending time with us, even if I missed french fries and being allowed to eat whatever I want.

It was maybe kind of fun though, getting to cook with her. First she made me clean up from lunch, washing the dishes and wiping things down, and then we washed our hands. That part was boring.

Making bread was way more fun, and I was kind of disappointed when we had to set the dough to the side and start on our sauce.

“Alright, Miss Jessie,” she explained patiently. “First, we cut up an onion. Do you know how to do that?”

I shook my head, explaining, “No knives.”

“Well,” she replied, “cutting an onion is an invaluable life skill. So, I’ll show you how on half, and then you will very carefully do what I did. Got it?”

“Yeah, but what if I cut myself?”

She smiled, pulling an onion out and setting it on the cutting board she’d pulled from somewhere.

“That’s why we’re going to be careful,” she said, narrating. “We cut off this end here, and then you cut very carefully like this.”

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” I told her, trying to tamp down on my nervousness. I could cut an onion. I just didn’t want to. 

Maureen’s POV

Jessie had wrapped her arms protectively around herself, stepping back from the counter, although she watched me closely.

Nodding, I held out my free hand and waved her over, “Come ‘ere, kitty cat. I’m not going to let you hurt yourself.”

She slowly made her way to me, and I wrapped my arms around her, guiding her hands through the familiar motion that started so many recipes.

“I did it!” she grinned, hopping a little once the onion was cut up.

“You did, and it looks wonderful,” I lavished praised, even as I quickly took the knife. “Let’s not jump with knives though.”

She giggled a little, and I gave her a quick squeeze before pulling garlic from the reusable shopping bag I’d brought.

“I’m guessing you don’t know how to mince garlic?”

She tensed at that, shaking her head, “Daddy and I eat out,” she said defensively.

“I know, kitty cat,” I soothed, realizing what the problem was. “I wasn’t criticizing. I was just checking before I showed you.”

She relaxed fractionally, and I said, “I’m guessing you’ll like this part. We have to get the paper off of the garlic cloves before we cut them.”

Jessie allowed me to wrap my arms around her again, and we continued making the sauce. Ultimately, it took me about three times as long to get dinner started then it would have if I’d just done it by myself, and the kitchen was an absolute disaster area, but I had a tomato smeared little girl laughing by the time everything was ready, and that made it all worth it.

“What shall we do now?” I asked, as I guided her through the clean up process. She was relaxed enough now that she was behaving pretty well, actually complying without so much as an eyeroll.

“You said we could bake cookies,” she said excitedly.

I had said that. I was now exhausted, far more tired than a simple day at work would cause, but she looked so happy that I figured I could find the energy for one more recipe before we sacked out on the couch with Cinderella.

“What kind would you like to make?” I asked her.

“I dunno,” she looked away, shrugging.

“Well, why don’t you get the iPad from my work bag, and we’ll find something on Pinterest,” I suggested, turning to the sink full of dirty dishes.

After agreeing on a recipe, we got down to business. Cookies were a lot easier to make with Jessie, since there was no cutting involved. I’d underestimated the importance of my stand mixer, but she was such an enthusiastic little assistant that the batter got mixed regardless.

I had to use a nearby wine bottle as a stand-in for my rolling pin, and we figured out that a tumbler would function pretty well as a cookie cutter, in a pinch, but the cookies came together relatively nicely. While the first batch baked, we put together a simple frosting, and then I pulled her away from the kitchen long enough to let cookies cool.

“Can we set the table nice for Daddy?” she suggested shyly, standing much more closely to me than I was used to.

“Absolutely,” I told her, thrilled at how well our afternoon together was going. “That’s a great idea, kitty cat. How would you like to set it?”

I was surprised by the linens she showed me, although she shrugged it off, explaining that they were wedding gifts, and she diligently helped me set the table, even going so far as to show me where Ryan stashed candles and matches.

“It looks so nice,” she clapped a little.

I hugged her, nodding, “It looks lovely, Jessie. You’re so helpful.”

She tolerated the touch for a brief moment, before shrugging free and asking, “Is it time to decorate the cookies?”

I followed her into the kitchen, both of us settling at the counter with sprinkles and frosting. We were both so relaxed, and Jessie was chatting freely. Which is really what caused the problem.

Jessie’s POV

Maybe I’d misjudged Maureen. She was pretty nice now that Daddy wasn’t around. Maybe a little strict, but her rules weren’t so unreasonable. And she was a really good listener, asking just the right questions and responding appropriately in a way that Daddy never seemed to.

“They just make me so mad,” I explained, carefully decorating the cookie with sprinkles. “I mean, Emily thinks she’s so special, and she barely even lets anyone talk to Ben. And he cries if you look at him cross eyed.”

“He’s sensitive?” she asked, seemingly focused on the task at hand.

I nodded, “Yeah. And Emily and Frankie just encourage it, and that’s bad. I wouldn’t’ve even eaten the cookie if they hadn’t made such a big deal out of it. She always overreacts, and it’s because her daddy doesn’t even barely touch her. I mean, I’ve seen her sass-”

“Wait,” Maureen interrupted me, asking, “You ate Ben’s cookie?”

“Yea-” I stopped, realizing that Maureen seemed upset. I changed my answer, “Maybe?”

“Maybe,” she repeated, unimpressed. 

I shrugged, “I don’t know. Everything happened so fast, and Emily was just whaling on me, Maureen. And it really hurt. She’s little, but she’s vicious. Like a poodle.”

“Like a poodle,” she repeated.

I didn’t like the repeating. That seemed bad, so I tried to change the subject, “After we finish the cookies, can we watch Cinderella? Please, Maureen? ‘s’my favorite, and Daddy won’t watch it with me anymore because he says he’s sick to death-”

“Wait a minute,” Maureen interrupted.

“That’s not p’lite,” I muttered, unhappy.

That was apparently not the right response, even though it seemed like Maureen would appreciate it. Since she liked manners so much.

“Excuse me, Jessica Mae?” she asked, incredulous. “Do you need time out again? We need to discuss this, but that can wait until you’re ready, if you’d like.”

“Nooooo,” I whined.

“Fine,” she said, putting down the butter knife she was holding and reaching across to take the sprinkles away. “Why did Emily hit you today?”

“Because she’s bad,” I muttered.

“Jessica.”

“I took Ben’s cookie,” I admitted unhappily. “I woulda given it back, but they’re just so mean, Maureen. They don’t ever play with me. And then Frankie started coming to daycare, and Emily doesn’t even like her, but they eat lunch together.”

“Jessie, do you think they don’t want to play with you because you’re being mean?”

Maureen’s POV

Jessica reared back as though she’d been slapped, staring at me with wide, hurt, eyes, “I am a very nice girl. Daddy says.”

Ryan did say that. Ryan said a lot of things, meant to build Jessie up, that I didn’t necessarily agree with. Jessie had the capacity to be nice and well behaved, but he never expected that from her, and so she was often a spoiled little brat.

“I think that you can be a very nice girl,” I told her carefully. “But have you been being mean to Ben?”

She shrugged, looking down and trying to blink away some tears, “I don’t know. But Em’ly and Lucy and Frankie shouldn’t even want to play with Ben. He’s a baby.”

“That’s not the point,” I forced myself to focus. I could address that later. Right now, I needed to know what happened at daycare so I could mete out appropriate consequences. “Have you been mean to Ben?”

“They’re not nice to me,” she defended, sniffling.

“And we’ll deal with that,” I promised. “But have you been mean to Ben?”

Jessie got up abruptly, knocking the stool back and glaring at me, hands on her hips as she lectured, “You’re supposed to be on my side. Like Daddy. Not stupid Emily’s side. She already has too many people who think she’s perfect.”

“Pick up the stool, Jessica Mae. We’re not throwing temper tantrums,” I said sternly.

“You pick it up,” she sniffed, turning away.

I couldn’t see her, but I had a pretty good idea of what expression she had on her face. I’d become very familiar with that pout.

Stalking around to her side of the counter, I grabbed her by one hand and forced her to make eye contact, “You will pick up that stool, right this minute, Jessica Mae Harding, or there will be consequences.”

She shrugged away, “So?”

“If that’s how you want to handle it,” I replied grimly, taking her by the bicep and bending her across my hip. “You just let me know when you’re ready to obey.”

It took her a minute to figure out what was going on, but she struggled valiantly when my hand came down hard on her backside.

“Stop!” she shrieked.

I asked, “Are you ready to pick up that stool and talk to me?”

“YOU’RE THE MEANEST! I’M TELLING MY DADDY!”

“You go right ahead, kitty cat. I was planning to, but you’re welcome to be the one who tells him,” I said, continuing with brisk, sharp, smacks. “You control when this ends, Jessica Mae.”

After a few dozen swats, when she still was unwilling to simply pick up the stool, I shifted her enough to pull her skirt up and pin it in back. The thin cotton wasn’t providing a ton of protection, but it was one layer less between her backside and my hand, and I hoped that would be enough.

“STOP!”

“Ready to pick up the stool?” I asked.

“NO!”

She was a stubborn little thing, and I grimly tugged her tights down. It was hard, getting them to her knees without letting go, but her underwear got dragged along, and she was then hobbled pretty well for me.

“You just let me know, kitty cat,” I said. “I’m not enjoying this any more than you are.”

That may not have been entirely true. Although I hated to hear her sad little squeals, there was something perversely gratifying about finally getting to warm her chubby little bottom. She was just so unbelievably naughty, and Ryan let her get away with it. Well, that wasn’t going to work with me. If she was Daddy’s princess, that meant I was the queen, and she would damn well learn to obey.

Finally, just when I was starting to worry that I’d have to stop and get something a little harsher, she gave in.

“Stop!”

She’d been yelling that since the beginning, but there was something different in her tone, so I slowed the pace of swats.

“I’ll pick it up,” she wailed.

Instantly, I stopped smacking down, helping her to stand, “Let’s get you out of your tights,” I suggested. “They aren’t going to feel too good right now.”

She jerked away, all of the good will I’d built up that afternoon gone, “I can do it myself,” she gritted out.

It wasn’t the time to correct her tone, and I gave her a minute to pull her panties back up. In spite of my suggestion, she dragged the tights up over her thighs and backside, hissing a little as she did it.

“Jessie,” I tried.

“I can do it,” she insisted, stiffly walking to the overturned stool and righting it. “Are you happy now?”

“No, Jessica Mae, I am not happy,” I told her. “I don’t like having to punish you. I don’t like that our nice afternoon was interrupted by a temper tantrum. But that’s what happened. Now, we need to finish our discussion.”

Jessie’s POV

I sniffled, avoiding eye contact, and Maureen held out a hand, “Come on, kitty cat. We need to talk about what happened at daycare.”

“You goin’ to hit me ‘gain?” I asked suspiciously.

“I will spank your bottom again, if you’re naughty,” she said, very matter of fact. “Are you going to be naughty again for me?”

That wasn’t really a fair question, but when I didn’t answer, she said, “Jessie? Are we going to have another problem?”

“Nooooo,” I whined. 

“Okay then,” she wiggled her fingers, waiting for me to take her hand, “let’s go sit in the living room, and you can tell me about daycare.”

I reluctantly allowed myself to be led to the living room, although I sat as far away from Maureen while remaining on the couch as I possibly could.

“Jessie, I know that you feel like I’m not on your side,” she started.

I snorted, and she gave me a look. When I didn’t do anything, she warned, “Jessica Mae, that was very rude.”

“Sorry.”

“Thank you,” her tone gentled again. “I am on your side. I want you to be happy, and I don’t think that being mean to people really makes anybody happy. So I’d like you to answer the question I asked before: have you been mean to Ben?”

“They’re mean to me,” I repeated, wishing Daddy would come home. He’d understand. Maureen was just thinking about what I did, but I was only reacting.

“Jessica,” Maureen reached forward and grabbed my chin. “I don’t want to hear about that right now. At this moment, I want an answer to the question I asked, young lady. If you’re still not ready to talk, you can wait in time out until you can answer me.”

I really didn’t want to go back to time out, and I caved. “Maybe a little.”

“Good girl,” Maureen praised. “Is there anything other than taking his cookie today?”

Shrugging, I whispered, “I maybe took his chips yesterday.”

“What else, kitty cat?” she prompted.

I pulled my knees to my chin, shrugging again, “I dunno.”

“Jess, I don’t believe that, baby,” she told me.

“It’s true,” I insisted, looking up. 

“Jessica.”

Maureen’s POV

Jessie was avoiding eye contact, and she mumbled, “I don’t know though. I never got ‘long with Emily. Ben used to be kind of fun, sometimes. He likes pretending. But then he went to live with Mr. Matt, and he only plays with Emily and Frankie now. And Lucy, but that’s just because Lucy is friends with Emily.”

I wasn’t sure that was true, but it was as far as we were going to get today. So, reaching forward, I took both of her hands and said, “What kind of consequence seems fair to you, Jessie Mae?”

“None!” she retorted, clearly outraged. “Em’ly already hit me. In the face, Maureen. And she knocked me over.”

“And I’m sure that’s being handled by Emily’s daddy, kitty cat. You’re my concern, and I don’t like hearing that you’re being a mean little girl because I know that you’re not mean. I know you can be nice, and I want everyone to see that.”

She didn’t answer, and I decided to go with something that would likely infuriate her, but seemed fair enough to me.

“We’re going to finish decorating those cookies, and then we’re going to put them on a plate and walk them over to Ben’s house,” I said firmly. “And you’re going to give him those cookies and apologize.”

“That’s not fair!”

“I think it’s very fair,” I contradicted. “You took Ben’s cookie today, and you took his chips yesterday. It’s fair that you make amends to him. Come on,” I stood, pulling her toward the kitchen.

“No! But we made those! Those are for us, and if Ben gets them, then we don’t have cookies, and he’ll let Emily have them, and she was bad too,” Jessie argued.

I sighed, sitting back down and pulling the little girl onto my lap. Pushing hair away from her forehead, I explained, “I can’t control what Emily does or does not do, although if she’s being mean to you, you need to tell a grown up so we can fix it. I do expect better behavior from you though, Jessica, and you’re going to show it to me, or you’re going to have a very sore little bottom and absolutely no fun. Understood?”

Jessie looked so upset, and she started to cry. Rather than pulling away though, she let me hug her closely. I figured she likely needed the cry.

Matt’s POV

We all felt better after the nap. Ben and Emily had spent the entire time cuddled up against me, and they’d miraculously both been ready to get up at the same time.

We were only about two hours from when we tried to eat, and I herded them downstairs to work something out for dinner. I soon found myself abandoned, although that was alright.

It was chilly out, and I was in the mood for comfort food. I called into the playroom, offering, “We can have pasta or we have the stuff for tacos.”

“What kind of pasta?” Em called back.

I realized then that she never ate lunch, and I said, “Come ‘ere please, baby.”

She appeared in front of me, and I grabbed a cheese stick and an apple, thrusting them at her, “You skipped lunch,” I explained. “I was thinking that spinach artichoke pasta thing?”

“That was good,” she agreed, taking a bite of the apple.

“I liked it,” Ben said from the doorway. “Do we have bread?”

“We can make foccacia,” I offered, unsurprised by his response.

“Yes yes yes!” he begged, coming more fully into the room and nodding, “Yes, please, Daddy.”

“Alright,” I grinned at him. Little things made him so happy. “Do I have helpers?”

“No, Daddy,” Emily said. “We’re busy.”

“We could help,” Ben offered, looking guilty.

I waved it off, “Go on. Play. I was thinking tomorrow could be a cooking day though, if that’s okay with you two?”

They agreed before scampering off, and I began pulling out ingredients for tonight’s dinner while considering tomorrow. I wanted to make some chicken stock from the leftovers from last night, and it would be a good chance to bake. It was supposed to be cold and rainy, perfect weather for a day inside.

Two little arms hugging me broke me out of my reverie, and Ben whispered, “Can we make delicious soup?”

“Absolutely,” I promised, giving him a quick kiss. “We’ll have to go to the grocery store anyway, so you can pick out the noodles.”

“I like tortellini,” he reminded.

“I know, peanut.”

As quickly as he appeared, he was back off to play, and I listened to the sounds of them running through the house and giggling as I began dinner preparations. Just as I was putting the dough aside to rest, the doorbell rang.

“I got it I got it!” Emily called, feet pounding toward the door. 

Ben’s POV

Em and I had been very busy, but she always liked to answer the door. Sometimes, it was Aunt Charlotte bringing cookies, and that was always good. I was right behind her today, but I drew back when I saw who it was.

There was a tall lady, with red hair, but standing a little bit behind her was Jessie. Emily got mad.

“What are you doing here?”

“Emily!” Daddy had come up behind us. “Don’t talk to people that way,” he admonished. “That’s rude.”

Jessie had shrunk even farther behind the lady, and Daddy said, “Hi, I’m Matt. I don’t believe we’ve met?”

The woman stuck out her hand, explaining, “Hi, I’m Maureen. I brought Jessie over because she had something to say to Ben. Jessica?”

Jessie was half behind her, and she didn’t move. Daddy took pity on her; that’s the kind of thing he does.

“Why don’t you both come in? It’s awful out.”

Emily turned to glare at Daddy, saying, “That’s Jessie! She’s-”

“Enough, Emily Anne,” he raised an eyebrow at her, stepping back and gesturing for them to come inside.

“Thank you,” Maureen replied, wrapping an arm around Jessie and pushing her along. “Jessica. What did you need to do?”

Jessie thrust a plate toward me, saying, “Sorry.”

I took the plate, confused, and Maureen said, “Could you excuse us a minute?”

Daddy grabbed Emily and nudged me toward the kitchen, saying, “We’ll just be in the kitchen getting a drink. Why don’t you join us as soon as you’re ready.”

“But Daddy,” Emily hissed.

Daddy swatted her a little, hissing back, “Don’t be rude to guests, Emily Anne.”

“But she’s the one been being mean to my Ben!” Emily retorted, outraged.

“”Enough, Emily Anne Mann,” he lectured, swinging her up and setting her on a stool. He looked her in the eyes, threatening, “If you can’t be polite to guests, then you can go and sit in the nursery until you know how to behave yourself. Understood?”

Emily crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at him, but Daddy wasn’t having it today, “Is that understood?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you,” he said, tone about as unhappy as hers was. He turned to me, smiling weakly and saying, “What did she hand you, peanut?” as he took the plate.

“Cookies,” Jessie said, from her place in the doorway. She still wasn’t looking at anybody, and her hands were twisting around each other as she said, “‘m sorry I’ve been mean to you, Ben, and I wanted you to have the cookies I baked as a ‘pology.”

I didn’t really know what to say to that, and I looked helplessly at Daddy. Sometimes, Daddy or Em would apologize for stuff, but it was never really anything I was upset about in the first place. 

“Thank you, Jessie,” Daddy smiled at her. “That was very kind. We were about to stop for a snack; why don’t you and Maureen have some cookies with us?”

“Thank you,” Maureen said, “but we’ve got to get home. I left spaghetti sauce on the stove.”

“Maybe some other time then,” Daddy offered, walking them toward the door. “Ben, can you say thank you for the cookies?”

“Thank you,” I mumbled, pressing against him. This felt funny. It was nice that Jessie made me cookies, but I knew how that went. The way Maureen was acting, Jessie hadn’t wanted to do this; her grown up had made her. As soon as he shut the door behind them, I held my arms out.

“Hey, peanut,” he soothed, lifting me easily to his hip. “That was nice of her.”

“That lady made her do it,” Emily muttered.

Daddy nodded, “Yup. Probably. The same way I’m about to make you write a letter apologizing. You know where everything is,” he nodded. “You can sit at the counter where I can keep an eye on you.”

“Daddy!”

“Em, you don’t want me to count,” he warned. “You’ve pushed me about as far as I’m going to today, so you can either sit and write that letter, or you can sit in time out until you’re ready to listen. Your choice, baby.”

I was relieved when Emily turned and stomped her way off to the kitchen. David would have punished me for that, but Daddy didn’t do stuff like that. So long as Emily sat down and did what she was told, he’d just pretend she had a good attitude.

Carrying me along behind Emily, Daddy suggested, “Can you draw me a picture, sweetpea? I need some new decorations for my office.”

Maureen’s POV

Jessie scuffed along beside me on our way home. It was an unpleasant day out, but I’d much rather be outside with her than inside that home. Jessie had been horribly uncomfortable, and there was no way I’d be able to relax there, with her feeling so unhappy.

“What shall we do when we get home, buttercup?” I asked, taking her hand and swinging it a bit.

She looked startled at that, asking, “‘m not in trouble?”

“No,” I explained. “You misbehaved today, and we dealt with it. Daddy might have something to say about it when he gets home, but I’ll tell him we took care of it already.”

“Really?”

“Of course, kitty cat,” I reassured. “You were naughty, and there were consequences, but that’s all over now.”

She looked wholly amazed by that concept, and I decided to change the subject, rather than ask questions that would cause a fight with Ryan later on.

“Do you still want to watch Cinderella?”

Jessie moved incrementally closer, still gripping my hand, “You’d watch it too?”

“Of course,” I smiled at her. “I love Cinderella. It’s my favorite of the old Disney movies.”

That was apparently a good topic, and I managed to keep her distracted until the movie was actually in. She’d disappeared for a minute when we first got home, reappearing with a stuffed doll with wild blue pigtails.

“And who is this?” I asked, motioning her over to the couch.

She easily slipped into my arms, offering the doll for me to look at as she explained, “This is River.”

“She’s beautiful,” I complimented.

That got a shy smile, as Jessie took the doll back, cuddling her close and allowing herself to snuggle up against me. I started the DVD, relatively happy with how our day had gone.

Ryan’s POV

There wasn’t any fighting when I got home, which seemed like a good sign. When Maureen had insisted upon picking up Jessie, I had worried that I’d come home to bloodshed. The house was surprisingly quiet, and it took me a minute to find them in the playroom.

They were sitting at the little table, dressed in feather boas, hats, and jewels, and the tea set was out.

“There’s my girls,” I greeted, grinning at my baby.

“Daddy!” she leapt up, running over to me and hugging. 

I smiled at Maureen, asking, “Did you guys have a good time?”

“Uh huh,” Jessie nodded, leading me over to the table. “We had lunch, and then we made dinner, and then we baked cookies, and then we watched Cinderella, and now we’re having a tea party. Would you like some tea, Daddy?”

This was the happiest I’d seen Jessie in a while, and I dropped a quick kiss on her head as I explained, “No, princess. Daddy’s gotta change out of his work clothes. I’ll be back in just a minute though.”

“Okay,” she agreed, hurrying back to sit down.

That was odd. Normally, any deviation from what she wanted led to a tantrum. I hadn’t really expected to just go and change my clothes. I figured that I’d be able to sneak away and change after a few cups of tea, once Jessie was distracted with the treat in my briefcase.

Maureen smiled at me, “We’ll be waiting,” she told me.

It was a nice change, being able to go through my post-work routine without Jessie either begging me to come back down or hanging off of me, and I was in a great mood when I came back downstairs.

“So, where are those cookies I heard about?” I asked, settling at the table. Jessie was a fan of real treats when she had her pretend party.

Maureen’s POV

Jessie looked down at that, eyes shifting guiltily, and I quickly explained, “We took them over to Ben’s house.”

“Why?” Ryan laughed, confused.

“Jess,” I prompted quietly. 

“As a ‘pology for eatin’ his cookies at daycare,” she breathed out, avoiding both of us.

“What?”

“That’s why Maggie called you earlier,” I pointed out, hoping he’d just let it go now.

“She didn’t explain that,” he said slowly. “Princess, why would you take Ben’s cookies? That’s not nice.”

Jessie looked near tears again, and I felt awfully for her as I explained, “Jess has been having some trouble with some of the other littles.”

“I knew that. Maggie said that Matt’s little girl hit her though. The tiny one,” he laughed. “I can’t believe she managed to knock you down, princess. She’s so petite.”

“Can I go play in the nursery?” Jessie asked.

It took me a moment to realize she was asking me instead of Ryan, but I nodded at her, “Go ahead, kitty cat.”

She didn’t wait, grabbing River and taking off up the stairs toward her princess room. It was really just an upstairs playroom, but there was a daybed in there for her, and I was guessing she was going to bury her head and cry a little.

“What happened?” he asked, me looking concerned.

I stared at him, “She’s having a hard time. Since Ben went to live with Matt, I’m thinking she’s feeling left out. At least, that’s what I got out of her today. Was it really necessary to ask her questions until she cried?”

“What? She wasn’t crying,” he said defensively.

I sighed, frustrated. Standing up, I instructed, “Take the bread out of the oven when the timer goes off, and start a pot of water boiling for pasta. There’s a container of soup in the fridge that needs to be reheated as well.

Without waiting for a response, I left, going up the stairs. Jessie was right where I expected to find her, curled up on the daybed and crying, and I joined her, pulling her head into my lap.

“It has been a rough day,” I commented, tugging one of her curls.

She nodded miserably, looking wholly pathetic, and I continued, “And then Daddy comes home, and he’s not exactly sympathetic.”

“Emily’s really strong,” Jessie defended herself. “I know she’s little, and I’m big. But she’s really strong.”

“I bet,” I agreed. “She knocked you over. She’s gotta be strong to do that.”

“You mean because I’m fat,” Jessie commented, swallowing. “Not like the other girls. They’re all little. Even Lucy, and she’s kinda tall for a little...she’s still skinny.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond to that, but I’d had an inkling that this might be part of the problem from the way Jessie had looked at Ryan’s comment. I decided to go with honesty, “Yes, you’re fatter than the other girls.”

She looked outraged, and I continued, “Fat is a descriptor, kitty cat. That’s all. Like tall or blonde or silly. It isn’t a value judgment.”

“S’posed to be little like them,” she whispered, rolling onto her side so she didn’t have to look at me. “Ev’rybody else is little. Em’ly’s daddy can pick her up, and so can Frankie’s papa. Daddy can’t pick me up because I’m too fat.”

“You are bigger than them,” I agreed. “Ryan can’t pick you up.”

“He always talks about how little they are.”

“Jessie, if Daddy wanted some tiny little girl, that’s who he would be with. I’m not exactly skinny either, kitty cat. He likes the way you look, and I like the way you look.”

“‘s’a fetish.”

“Who said that?” I asked, genuinely curious.

She shrugged, explaining, “Everybody. When a guy only likes fat girls, that’s a fetish.”

I’d noticed some commonalities between Ben and Emily, and so I asked the obvious question, “Is Matt only liking tiny littles a fetish?”

“No. That’s the way we’re supposed to look. I’m just not right,” she said the last sentence softly, voice breaking on the last word.

“It’s not a fetish,” I patiently explained. “It’s a preference. Daddy and I happen to prefer our littles with chubby bottoms and curly blonde hair. That’s all. It’s not better or worse. It’s just what we like.”

Jessie’s POV

It felt kind of nice, Maureen playing with my curls. What she was saying was pretty nice, although I didn’t like her calling me fat. You weren’t supposed to do that. It was rude.

“Do you understand that?” she asked me.

I nodded. She was wrong, but I understood, “You and Daddy love me just the way I am,” I recited, trying hard to keep the snottiness out of my voice. “Even though I’m fat.”

“Not quite,” she corrected, “Daddy and I love you for lots of reasons. One of the reasons we think you’re beautiful is because we love your beautiful hair,” she tugged on a curl as she said that. Hand drifting down, she patted where I was still extremely sore, saying, “And we like your round little bottom, even when it’s very red and sore because you’re being naughty.” Her hand moved again to cup my cheek, “And we love your dimples and your green eyes. We love the way you look. It’s not something we put up with.”

I rolled onto my back so I could look up at her. She was wrong, but she sounded so absolutely certain in her wrongness.

“I think I need chocolate,” she announced.

I shrugged, “We don’t got any.”

“We’ve got about 20 minutes before dinner is done,” she explained to me, helping me sit up. “And I’ve got the stuff to make dessert, if you’re willing to help.”

She took my hand to walk down the stairs, asking, “Have you ever had chocolate pudding cake?”

“No.”

“Well, it’s delicious,” she informed me. “So tonight, we’ll have some chocolate pudding cake, and then tomorrow, we’re going to go to the grocery store, and you’re going to help me pick out ingredients for dinner. How does that sound?”

Surprisingly okay. Maureen had actually been pretty fun, for the parts of the day when I wasn’t in trouble, and cooking again tomorrow would probably be not absolute torture.


End file.
